The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-17
: FREAK or NAru]

"sAN Of NArud
Nsas 30 Ne "seaatain Of a,s!,
aar.s' South America sa sIr'a ID
what is known as tho sn'rs
Blood" It received ,hi r ns~,
=; S0uns o. the curious red li"ai,
.ro@ 5ne roof Of a cavern, and v
on falling. coagulates md 'aa
ssmbie' human blood. "'D 1 GA
also. it speedily corrupt, ~ L'ks
GaGr Of animal decay: 1n ssa >
,iear larvn in it, and dogs ans
INFORMED, inc, BY one who has vit,1
m that the grotto is the nightly si a,'I y
%u't'tudes Of large bats, 1 yhil
the dogs and birds. feast 1llq
,n,oll h.. ". winch has not al
fal odor is perceptible At ,
able distance from The CO.
when it is reached ma s,s''
blood may be sesn
state of jellifcd oo,.
Numerous attempts have hso as !
obtain a portion Of this ~
liquid for analytical purnos, D09
every case without success :.
quence Of rapid decomuosi'i,n
causes the bottles to burst, '" ~
Don Rafael Oscjo undertook -
INIT some bottles Of it to Londo]
his intention was frustrated :
bursting of the bottles, and fla
than twenty-four hours attas
them. MI. E. G. Squier did o,']
eeeded in taking back with !
New York two bottles Of n.
largely diluted with water. hit
came very offensive, and nv
factory explanation Of the mn
enon could be obtained. We eis1
following perhaps the most
factory-explanation that has h.
ceived. 1t was written hv ona
undertook the journey in ou1
satisfy his curiosity: THE mir
cave he says, '.is a fissure abon
teen or twenty feet high, and fvo /
wide ut the entrance, butt ranidlv
rows. so thata man can only folIl
for thirty or forty feet. Ii ,bo
with huge bats, which cling IN NJ
to the narrower part of the dsl
The stencil is strongly ammoni
and so intense that l was ob]ig4
retire thrice before l could oyo
from the innermost part that
reach a sufficient quantity Of
material to fill the bottles OF aid
which l had carried with me ~
purpose. In the rainy season q
current Of red matter, like N
flows from the cave into the STIR
but in the dry season the water cd
to percolate through the roof and
Of the cave, and the flow cease,
my visit it had already stopped.
the floor of the cave was COY
several inches deep with a jeIlvI
Or pasty mass, which gave a blood
color when mixed with water. On
sides of the cave were clotted ma
looking like dried blood, which
run down from above; and in the
parts that l could reach IN
recess of the assures l collected /
my knife some fresh semi.A
matter which the insects had
attacked. Examined with a mid
scope on the spot, it cxhibi
no living particles, nor. in
any thing but minute fragme
of the digested debris of insects, Fl
the tint of the red color / was at
inclined to believe that it might res
from the generation of sulplocyan
of ammonium during the putrelact
Of the animal excrctions, and the rel
lion Of that substance with q trace
iron in the water pcrcolatins throu
The sandstone. But MI. W. 7. Tayl.
10 whom l submitted some of the 80
matter collected, as also the semitic
preserved in alcohol. writes me d
he can not detect any iron in Che 4
solution, and that it appears tic be
an organic coloring matter I
nsoluble substance has been found
Dr.. Leidy to consist chiefly Of chi'id
,ndigested fragments Of insed
mingled with bats hair and homoget
'us granular matter" In q count
ike South America. where %sclentl
knowledge can hardly be said to czi
freak OF nature of this extraordiua
description could not fail to becou
II object Of great and supcrstitIoI
Vonder. and many weird and ma
'elous stories are current conccrnld
he Fountain of Blood. "-CgsSc!1
Journal.
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la> - E.~aaca Clan